There is the possibility of two South African footballers going up against each other in the UEFA Champions League this week while Relebohile Mofokeng is set to get his first taste of European club competition.
Danish champions Aarhus host Sabah of Azerbaijan on Wednesday in the first leg of their third preliminary round tie, hoping to have former Platinum Stars and Cape Town City winger Gift Links back in the line-up after injury.
Links was one of Aarhus’ star performers as they won the Danish championship for the first time in 40 years last season, but last week the 27-year-old was absent as they came back from a 4-1 home deficit against Poland’s Lech Poznan to advance in the competition in a dramatic rescue act in the second preliminary round, where they entered the competition.
Sabah have already come through two rounds of two-legged preliminary round ties in this season’s Champions League against Welsh and Finnish opposition, with former Kaizer Chiefs centre back Aden McCarthy in their squad, although he has only had a few minutes of game time in the competition since moving from South Africa.
Wednesday’s first leg is in Randers, Denmark, with the return game in Azerbaijan next Tuesday, and the winner will advance to the last preliminary round to take on either Hapoel Beer-Sheva of Israel or Red Star Belgrade of Serbia for a place in the league competition.
Before that, on Tuesday night, Belgium’s Union Saint Gilloise begin their bid to reach the group phase of the Champions League with a third preliminary round tie against Bodo/Glimt, the Norwegian side who pulled off a stunning run last season against teams like Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan and Manchester City.
Mofokeng made his first official appearance for Union last Friday as a second-half substitute and tucked away the decisive penalty as they beat champions Club Brugge away to win the Belgian Super Cup.
The 21-year-old will likely get some game time, either in the starting line-up or more likely off the bench, in Oostende on Tuesday as Union host the first leg of the tie.
Union are not able to use their own ground in Brussels for the game because it is too small for European club competition ties.
Union are away in Norway for the second leg next Wednesday and if they advance, will take on either NEC Nijmegen from the Netherlands or Greece’s Olympiakos for a place in the Champions League proper.